Westerville, OH — Some days Melissa House feels as if she can take on the world.Others, not so much.
House suffers from what certain medical experts call a "part time disability", and others refer to as a "sham." Some days, House is able to walk upright without any difficulty, and other days she is hobbled by a mysterious ailment, that forces her to park her car in her workplace's nearest handicapped spot.
"I really get totally handicapped on rainy and snowy days. Usually when the weather sucks, that's when I start feeling all handicapped." House says. "That's when I have to park right by the building."
House keeps a handicapped placard to hang from her rear view mirror in her car for such trying days. "That handicapped placard really comes in handy!" laughed House. "I also feel all handicappy when I go to the mall, but that happens rain or shine."
House works at ToySports, Inc., where she spends her days testing pogo sticks and jump ropes. "Luckily, they've been very understanding about my handicapment." ToySports, Inc. has two handicap parking spaces available to visitors and employees.
Ruth Popovich, a receptionist at ToySports, who is a wheelchair-bound parapalegic, is sometimes forced to park in one of the businesses' regular spots, farther away from the entrance.
When asked about House, Popovich pulled a crowbar from her specially-outfitted handicap-accessible van. "I'll show that bitch what it's really like to be handicapped."
